Do you want your business found online? As more and more people access the Internet using their mobile devices, the importance of internet presence for businesses has increased. Citation building can help build the presence of your business online.
A citation is nothing but a listing of your business name and address on other webpages. A typical example is the online yellow pages directory. It has your business listed but not linked. Newspaper articles and blog posts that mention your business are also citations.
Citations are usually of two types, structured and unstructured. The structured citation is usually the one you find in directories with your business name and website. Unstructured ones may just mention your business name or can also have your address and other details but don’t appear on listing directories.
Why Do You Need Citation Building?
Citations are really important for local businesses as they help tell search engines that they can trust your business. If you want to ensure that search engines have information about your business that they can show in local searches, you can make use of citation building. You can make use of them to send accurate and relevant information about your business to listing directories.
It is similar to link building. When web crawlers find links to your business website, they know it is trustworthy. Citations help build online credibility for your business when they are listed in important listing directories.
Search engines look at them to ensure that they display reliable information about the business that customers are looking for. It is important that the information is consistent across all online directories.
One of the important things to remember is that they are good not just for businesses but for customers too. When customers search for local businesses the citations ensure that they display accurate information about the business.
If you have changed phone numbers or moved to a new location, you need to ensure that it is changed across all online directories. Incorrect or inconsistent information can cause confusion in the minds of customers.
If the customer sees two different sets of information about the same business in the search engines they may stop trusting the business. If there is any change in the name, address, phone number or any other information that the customer may access, you need to ensure that it is reflected across all online directories that have listed your business.
Setting up Citations
Even though citation building takes time, it is not difficult. Do remember to keep the data consistent across all sites. If your business has been around for some time then most of the sites may have information about it.
If you have a new business then you will have to build your online presence. Each site has different requirements and you need to comply with it to list your business. If you have a good number of citations your business will rank higher than the competitors on search engines.
For more details on citation building for business, contact Soaring Away at 910-471-5030.
